Atonement
by ThePillowOfDoom
Summary: AU, will be part of larger series. See profile for more info.  A split-second decision by Regulus Black will ultimately change the course of history.


Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters or included in this story. Everything other than the new plot belongs to J.K. Rowling. I'm not making any money off this, I'm just having a little fun. Oh, and at the end I included the R.A.B. note. That's not mine either.

A/N: This is the first one-shot in what will be a very large AU series. Technically, everything until the last few paragraphs could be canon, but the ending will lead to the AU.

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><p>As the torrential rain slammed into the sea, and the rising waves crashed into the side of the cliff, not many people would have taken notice of the cavern opening in its side. For that matter, most people would have been at home, not daring to leave for fear of becoming victims of Death Eaters, the terrorist organization which had torn Wizarding Britain in two.<p>

Regulus Black, however, was not most people.

To begin with, he was a member of the Black family, arguably one of the wealthiest and definitely one of the largest and oldest Pureblooded families in the wizarding world. Regulus was also a member of the Death Eaters, and as such would have been far more likely to be the victimizer, rather than the victim.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Regulus at this moment, however, was that he was currently in the process of defecting from the group and striking a potentially crushing blow against its leader, the self-proclaimed Dark Lord Voldemort.

Regulus had served the Dark Lord for several years, and when the chance had come to earn Voldemort's favor, he had jumped at the chance, eagerly volunteering his faithful house-elf, Kreacher, to assist him with anything he needed done. In doing so, he had nearly cost Kreacher his life.

Which was why Regulus was now standing inside the seaside cave, with Kreacher at his side. Neither of them spoke for several moments, Regulus not knowing how to force his companion to relive such an experience, and Kreacher because house-elves did not speak unless spoken to.

Scanning the area for what seemed like the millionth time, Regulus sighed. He was facing a solid wall, and there seemed to be no exit other than the one he had just entered through. He turned to Kreacher and bent down to one knee.

"Kreacher." His tone was soft, but conveyed the urgency of the situation.

"Master." The elf's voice was a raspy whisper, and the fear was evident in Kreacher's eyes.

"I need you to think hard about this. Ate you certain this is the correct cave? Did the Dark Lord do anything to advance from this chamber?"

As soon as he asked, Regulus regretted it. Kreacher's eyes widened, and he backed away from his master. Then, the diminutive creature spoke once more.

"Bad man took Kreacher over to the wall." Trembling, the elf made his way towards a part of the stone that had a small indent. "Kreacher didn't want to, but bad man made Kreacher bleed into the rock. Does Master wish Kreacher to do it again?"

Regulus, having risen to his feet as Kreacher was talking, regarded the elf with a mixture of sympathy and regret.

"Of course not. You said you disapparated once the Dark Lord had left. Can you bring us to the other side?" Regulus had no intention of forcing his companion to go through this experience again.

Clearly relieved that he wouldn't be injuring himself this time, Kreacher nodded, and Regulus placed a hand on his shoulder. With a pop, Regulus felt the pull of apparition and found himself inside a dim chamber, the only light being a faint greenish glow far in the distance.

Pulling out his twelve inch, yew wand, with a dragon heartstring core, he waved it in a long, S shaped motion, and yelled out, "Lumos Maxima!"

Instantly, a ball of light emerged from the tip of his wand, and flew out towards the glow, which Regulus now knew to be an island at the far end of the cave, a massive lake separating it from the pair. Glancing around the area on which he was standing, he noticed a boat at the edge of the water. However, he felt there was an easier way to pass the lake.

He turned to Kreacher, who was shivering, although it was unclear if from his fear or the cold. Running a hand through his shoulder length black hair, then place it back on the elf's shoulder. He addressed Kreacher once more.

"Kreacher, I need you to take us to the island. Can you do that?" Kreacher made no effort to reply, opting instead to simply follow orders, and with another pop, apparated himself and his master to the island.

Realization seemed to sink in at that moment, as Kreacher fell to his knees, seemingly unable to look away from the glowing green pedestal in the center.

Wasting no time, Regulus moved to inspect it immediately, finding a basin that seemed to have been carved out of the stone pedestal. Inside the basin was what appeared to be a potion. He knew at that moment what he had to do, but couldn't bring himself to do it without consulting the house-elf beforehand.

Without even looking away from the potion, he spoke. "Kreacher. You said the Dark Lord forced you to drink it, and if he hadn't done so, there would have been no way you could have done it."

Kreacher stuttered as he replied, "Y-yes, Master Regulus."

The was a somber tone in Regulus' voice when he issued his order. "Kreacher, you must petrify me and-"

At this, Kreacher gasped, and in a manner quite unlike him, he interrupted his master.

"No, Master, Kreacher can't hurt Master! Kreacher will drink evil potion again, so Master doesn't have to!"

Turning around as to face Kreacher, Regulus sat down against the pedestal, and shook his head.

"I can't make you do that, Kreacher. Now I need you to listen to me very carefully, and do _exactly_ as I say."

Wordlessly, and with a look of terror all over his face, Kreacher could only nod as his master spoke.

"You're going to petrify me," he said, "so I can't resist. Then you will pour the potion into my mouth and down my throat until it's all gone. Then you will release me. Understand?"

By this point, there were tears forming in the bluish eyes of the house-elf, and he looked absolutely mortified to be agreeing, but as an elf he had no choice, so he could only nod at Regulus. Tightly shutting his eyes, Kreacher snapped his fingers, and instantly Regulus stiffened. Kreacher made no effort to move for several seconds, instead listening to the eerily calm breathing of his master. Reluctantly, the elf walked toward the pedestal and, with another snap of his fingers, he rose into the air. Taking a small shell that laid next to the basin in his hand, he filled it with the potion and brought it over to his master.

Regulus drank the potion with no resistance, mainly because he couldn't move. As soon as the potion poured down his throat, his eyes widened, and he began breathing much more heavily. He couldn't feel anything but the pain, and the look in his eyes seemed to be pleading with Kreacher. Having been ordered to do so, Kreacher had no choice but to repeat the process.

By the fourth time he'd been made to drink the potion, Regulus was hyperventilating. Once Kreacher had poured the last of the drink into his mouth, Regulus seemed to calm down, so the traumatized elf snapped his fingers once more, and Regulus let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Kreacher." His voice was barely a whisper. "The horcrux."

Obedient as always, Kreacher went to the basin again. Though it had been empty previously, a golden locket with a green snake inlayed on the front now lay inside. His hands shaking, Kreacher reached in and took it.

Instantly, he was bombarded with a tremendous sense of anger and fear, and he desperately wanted to put the locket on.

"Kreacher..." His master's voice breaking his trance, Kreacher hopped down from the pedestal and presented the locket to Regulus, who reached into his black robe and pulled out a duplicate.

"Take it, Kreacher... and put it in the original's place. Quickly, Kreacher. We must destroy the real one... once we leave this horrid place. And... water."

Taking the locket, Kreacher floated himself up to the basin for what seemed like the millionth time, and placed it inside. As soon as he did, the basin refilled itself with the green potion, and the fake locket had vanished. Kreacher breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to Regulus.

"Master-" whatever the elf was going to say was interrupted as his master crawled to the edge of the island and attempted to drink from the lake.

Waves erupted all around the pair as thousands of rotting Inferi rose from the water. Kreacher tried to reach his master, but before he could, Regulus called out to him.

"Stay away, Kreacher! You need to destroy that thing," Regulus yelled, while at the same time casting a spell to blow up an Inferius that was pulling on his leg. It was useless, however, as dozens more reached him and began to drag him into the water.

"Go to the house, Kreacher, destroy it!" Regulus had stopped struggling, seemingly resigned, or perhaps to tired to resist. "F... find Slughorn! Tell him, no one else, understand? GO!"

Unwilling to watch his master's fate any longer, and unable to try to help on his orders, Kreacher apparated to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the ancestral Black family home.

Having apparated to Regulus' room, Kreacher began to punish himself over his master's death, smashing the locket against his face for a few minutes. Once he felt suitably punished, Kreacher contemplated the last order he's received.

_Find Slughorn. _Slughorn had been his master's teacher. So now Kreacher knew where to go.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

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><p><em>To the Dark Lord<em>

_I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret._

_I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can._

_I face death I the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more._

_R.A.B._

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><p>AN: This is the part where I beg for reviews. But I won't be holding the story hostage over reviews. The next part will be up (separately from this one) whenever I finish it. But I'd still love to hear what people think, and how I can do better, so please review!

Also, I like to think Slughorn and Regulus were close, since Regulus "made the shelf".

_~ThePillowOfDoom  
><em>


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